Back in the 2011-12 season, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team lost at Tiffin University on a buzzer-beater.
Consider the teams now even.
Redshirt-freshman guard Stedman Lowry hit his fourth 3-point shot of the game with just 5 seconds to play to lift the Chargers to a 49-47 win over the Dragons in Ohio Thursday night at Tiffin's Gilmour Center.
Hillsdale is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the GLIAC. The Chargers play Ohio Dominican in Columbus Saturday afternoon, with tip off scheduled for 2 p.m.
In a game that saw both teams struggle mightily to score, Lowry was on target, draining four 3-point baskets on his way to a career-high 17 points in the victory. Three of his four baskets from downtown came in the second half, which saw both teams take turns controlling the play.
Preceeding Lowry's cold-blooded shot, sophomore center Nick Archer blocked s shot which led to a layup by junior Lucas Grose, which cut the Dragon lead to one, 47-46. It was fitting that Archer produced the game's biggest defensive play, since he was a big reason why Hillsdale was able to win the game.
A big, strong center from Columbus, Ohio, Archer scored 10 points in the win, which exceeded his previous career total in point-scoring coming into the game (9 points). Archer finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 27 gritty minutes on the court.
Tiffin opened the game in a big way, sprinting out to an 18-5 lead through the game's first 10 minutes. It took more than 11 minutes for the Chargers to get to 7 points on the scoreboard, as they opened ice-cold in the tight quarters of Tiffin's gymnasium. The Chargers used a 7-0 run to claw their way back within striking distance, and the game was closely played over the final 25 minutes.
A 17-6 run by the Chargers gave them a five-point lead, 34-29, with 13:01 left in the second half. But Tiffin immediately answered with a 10-2 run to retake the lead. The Dragons led from the 6:06 mark of the second half until Lowry's dagger with five seconds to play.
Junior forward Kyle Cooper was held to just 12 field goal attempts by the aggressive Tiffin defense, and finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Senior Ian Sheldon gave the Chargers a nice spark with his play in the first half, and had 4 points in 7 minutes.